Lexington non-profit COMPASS points homeless in right direction

The most difficult part of being homeless for 27-year-old Julia McNeill was not concern for her well being, but rather answering the question of how she would take care of her four children.

Bouncing among family members' homes,at age 25 McNeill was looking for a better life. Receiving only $500 a month from welfare, McNeill decided to look to the Lexington-based COMPASS for Kids program for aid.

By Marc Filippino/Staff Writer

The most difficult part of being homeless for 27-year-old Julia McNeill was not concern for her well being, but rather answering the question of how she would take care of her four children.

"With them, the hardest part is worrying where you are going to lay their heads at night, how you are going to get them to school or the doctor. Someone had stolen my car, but even then, worry about my kids was the hardest thing," McNeill said.

Bouncing among family members' homes,at age 25 McNeill was looking for a better life. Receiving only $500 a month from welfare, McNeill decided to look to the Lexington-based COMPASS for Kids program for aid.

"It was impossible to fight for a voucher to get my kids into daycare while looking for a job," she said.

After several weeks of job training, McNeill began her tenure with COMPASS last year as an intern for Lil’ Sprouts of Essex Preschool. She said her dream to become an educator became more feasible as she became more involved with COMPASS because she could focus on her career without constantly worrying about her children.

"With the Lil’ Sprouts opportunity, I was hired right out the internship and they helped find daycare placement for my children," McNeill said.

Since 2002, the COMPASS staff has help people improve their life by aiding with education and job placement in Massachusetts.

Fitting the needs of the community

When COMPASS first opened in 1991, the nonprofit was focused on the needs of families, and primarily looked towards educating parents who had a difficult time with stressful situations.

Former Lexington resident and COMPASS founder Jodi Hill remembers the 1990s as being an interesting time for parents because more mothers were part of the workforce.

Eventually the program evolved and began to provide professional development courses and credits for preschool and afterschool program teachers who needed additional credits for their positions.

"This was before the Internet, so people came to support centers to talk about kids with special needs," Hill said.

Over time, Hill saw homelessness rise steadily in Massachusetts. Meanwhile, as more people were turning to Internet for their parenting, Hill decided she would change COMPASS to fit the needs of homeless families in the community.

"The need for parenting education was decreasing and family homelessness was getting worse," Hill said. "I wanted to centerpiece a program on homeless families."

Working with local affiliates such as LexFUN, as well as colleges and housing organizations within the area, Hill and her staff created a collaborative of programs to get homeless people organized, educated and financially equipped to begin a new life.

"We connect them to people who will coach them as a group and work on skill building," Hill said. "We want the best for these people. These are moms and dads who can’t keep the electricity on and that’s life for them."

Hill said while Lexington is known for its financial stability, the local volunteers do everything they can to help those in the program who are in need.

"[Lexington] is a community, that for some, is carefree, but they always give back. But there are some disadvantaged families in this community. The reality is, there are more than we would want to admit," she said.

Moving forward

Now Julia McNeill is a full-time teacher's assistant at Lil’ Sprouts. Although she has a stable job and a home in Haverhill, she said she is not finished trying to better her life.

Through the COMPASS community college program, McNeill is taking two classes a semester in addition to working 40 hours a week. In the end, she hopes to get a bachelor’s degree to work with special needs kids.

She laughs, admitting it’s a little tiring. She keeps in mind that it’s all to keep her family together and well off.

"It’s a struggle, but in the end, it’s definitely worth it," she said.